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Why do I have nipple pain now??

So breastfeeding has been going so well, and then DD cuts her two bottom teeth (at the same time!), and now, all of a sudden, it hurts when she nurses. It's been like that reliably for the past couple days. I feel like the obvious answer is that the two events are related, but I'm not for sure that they are, and what to do about it. I've tried adjusting her position, but that doesn't seem to make a difference. Not every time does it hurt. My nipples aren't showing any signs of damage, or of thrush, nor does my DD, that I can see. I realize thrush may not have any outward signs. My period hasn't returned, and we are most definitely exclusively breastfeeding often, night and day. Although I realize no birth control method is 100%, even LAM, and as such, I just called my DH, who will be getting off night shift soon and asked him to go get a pregnancy test on his way home. Overkill? Maybe, but it sure doesn't seem like it when you can't sleep because it hurts to nurse! I will say that the pain seems worse when she's sleepy-- there have been times in the past when she's nursed to sleep, and once she's sleeping, the nursing becomes a little painful. I've always just chalked it up to the latch getting a little sloppy since she's fallen asleep, and just unlatched her. But, just now when I nursed her, even though she was sleepy, it hurt at the beginning of the nursing. Wow, this is beyond frustrating-- help!

First time mommy to Anika Jo, born 6/27/11 at home
Love to , and . Cloth diapering full time, and part-time ECing-- my baby pees and poos in her little pink potty!
I blog: www.the-whole-life.blogspot.com

a little village with some trees, people, and a canal in it, Derbyshire, England

Posts

126

Re: Why do I have nipple pain now??

Oh dear xx I feel your pain - or have done!

Those teeth are nasty little nippers and sometimes you can't see a mark. When they have first come through they are like razors so I would suspect that to be it. Pay great attention to positioning and keep us posted.

If your nipple are white looking after the feed, it could be reynaulds. And if it's getting cold where you are, that may be it. Try keeping your breasts warm.

Re: Why do I have nipple pain now??

Teething is the obvious suspect, but I think picking up the pregnancy test was a smart idea.

When a baby is latched on properly, the tongue covers the bottom gum line, making it impossible for baby to bite without biting her own tongue. So you may not feel the teeth or see marks. I know when my kid teethes I tend to get a lot more milk blisters. Is that a possibility?

Re: Why do I have nipple pain now??

Well, the pregnancy test was negative. Still hurts to nurse. I'm wondering if maybe she has a latch that was borderline shallow, and the teeth have tipped the scales more towards an even shallower latch. I have OALD (and historically OS too, but that's better), so i wonder if maybe her latch was just deep enough to be effective, but still on the shallow sides of things to have the potential for problems. Looks like I will be calling a LLL leader to see about some in person help... the LC I saw at the hospital once when DD was 2 wks old was super nice and all, but since I had a homebirth, I felt kinda awkward going to the hospital breastfeeding support group meeting... I'm not too familar with milk blisters--how would I tell if I have one?

First time mommy to Anika Jo, born 6/27/11 at home
Love to , and . Cloth diapering full time, and part-time ECing-- my baby pees and poos in her little pink potty!
I blog: www.the-whole-life.blogspot.com

Re: Why do I have nipple pain now??

You might see a white dot, or perhaps a small and tough-looking bubble of skin on the surface of the nipple, and it might be more obvious at the conclusion of a feeding. You'd probably also have a plugged duct behind the blister.

Re: Why do I have nipple pain now??

Hi, I logged on today to post a very similar question myself! My LO has had his two bottom teeth for a few weeks now (he's nearly 7mo) and is working on his top two and my goodness, I have sore nipples like at the very start. I read somewhere that their saliva becomes more acidic when they're teething, which can cause soreness, but like you I fear it's more that his latch was never completely brilliant, and that the new teeth have tipped it over into 'really not very good'. Still feeding every hour for at least part of the night, too...so really, just to say I feel your pain....

Re: Why do I have nipple pain now??

i logged on to look for the same question as well! my baby will be 8 months tomorrow (sigh!) and cut her bottom two teeth a month ago but i thiiiink she's getting ready for some more, as her cheeks were bright red last night, she's been sticking her tongue out to the right side of her mouth, she's got a little bit of a diaper rash and oh my nipples are sore! especially the left one. i also have had more clogged ducts in the past week than in the month before , but i don't know if that's connected to teething or what. oh! and her sleeping at night is pretty bad - we were up every hour last night. every hour!

thanks for posting the question ~ as always, it helps immensely to see other women's experiences, especially when they match your own..

Re: Why do I have nipple pain now??

Yay, i'm not alone!!! yeah the pain is still there off and on, but i've tried to get DD into a different position to change the angle a bit--that seems to help....also, i think she might be chewing on my nipple a bit in her sleep and I'm finally just now clueing into it. oy. i've started to set her down more when she whips her little head around to look.at.everything, boob still in mouth so we'll see where that takes us. hang in there ladies! it has to get better, right?

First time mommy to Anika Jo, born 6/27/11 at home
Love to , and . Cloth diapering full time, and part-time ECing-- my baby pees and poos in her little pink potty!
I blog: www.the-whole-life.blogspot.com